Cheeky, cheerful and charming – these are some of the words that describe Barnardos Kaihautu Cultural Advisor, Henare Manawatu.

When you first meet Henare, you are greeted with a mischievous grin and a private demeanour. But once he starts opening up, his true colours outshine the demeanour that outsiders see at first. Henare is Kaihautu Cultural Advisor at Te Poutama Ārahi Rangatahi, Barnardos’ therapeutic residential home for young boys. He is also a part of He Puāwai Pounamu, Barnardos’ Māori Advisory Group.

So, what is a cultural advisor? A Barnardos Kaihautu Cultural Advisor supports and leads a service through cultural processes and procedures. Henare implements cultural practices across Te Poutama Ārahi Rangatahi so the young boys and staff feel supported from a cultural perspective.

“I spend a lot of time with the youth. My role is to look after their wairua (spirituality) but also to look at their cultural connections, their identities, who they are and where they come from,” says Henare.

“I think the boys and staff trust me because I bring in a te ao Māori perspective in everything I do, which helps them break down those walls so they feel comfortable to open up and speak with me. I would say my sense of humour is also a bonus,” he jokes.

Supporting the boys and staff of Te Poutama Arahi Rangatahi

Henare is adored by everyone at Te Poutama Ārahi Rangatahi, with a humourous personality like his, you can see why the boys and staff would confide in the Kaihautu regularly.

“The young people that come through here have had traumatic lives and it’s been shocking to know what they been through. Instead of punishing them, we work out who they are, what they can do and encourage them to have a better life.”

Te Poutama Ārahi Rangatahi specialises in therapeutic practices for young men, between the ages of 12-17 years old and who have engaged in harmful sexual behaviours in the community. There are clinical, education and advisory teams in the residence who support the boys and help them transition back into the community.

“The youths really show you a lot of respect if you show them respect. My focus is building trust with them, once you take time to work with them, they are willing to work with you.”

“You get better results when they know who they are. We get better results if they can understand the whole wairua (spirituality) and realise their behaviours can damage people. We get better results when we teach them to have mana (pride) but to give mana you need to have respect and mana for others. That’s how we get the results from our rangatahi; we look at the soul holistically, and that’s the difference with the mahi we do here [Te Poutama Ārahi Rangatahi],” says Henare.

Henare’s Journey

Before taking on the role at Barnardos as a Kaihautu Cultural Advisor, Henare was in the education sector. He studied a diploma and then a bachelor’s degree in education, which eventually led him down the path of teaching in schools, becoming a school principal and even working as an educational advisor for nine years for his local iwi, Ngā Tahu.

Henare started his journey with Barnardos as a Lead Educator in the education team at Te Poutama Ārahi Rangatahi. “I saw this role and thought I would give it a go because it was taking me back into the classroom. I was the Lead Educator for Te Poutama Ārahi Rangatahi when I first started and then I became Kaihautu after two months in the role.”

“I have two passions in my life, one is education and the other is te ao Māori, and this role [Kaihautu Cultural Advisor] combines them both. I have always incorporated te ao Māori in everything I do, so I live by the values that I have been brought up with. This includes: tikanga Māori, te ao Māori, respect, honour, empathy and everything to do with ensuring that it looks after the wellbeing of others,” says Henare.

Making a difference to the lives of rangatahi

If Henare could wave a magic wand to help the youths of Te Poutama Ārahi Rangatahi, he would
“make sure they are treated like anyone else in society and that they are given the opportunity to succeed as them, not as how we want them to be. We say that a lot in education, ‘it’s not to pass the standardised test or mark, it’s to ensure when they walk out of school, that they know they have achieved the best to their ability,” says Henare.

Te Poutama Ārahi Rangatahi

Te Poutama Ārahi Rangatahi focuses on therapeutic practices for young men between the ages of 12-17 years old. These young men have engaged in harmful sexual behaviour in the community. The residency focuses on using restorative practices to help each individual resident become their best self under supervision. The difference between the residential home and other facilities provided in New Zealand is that we use a therapeutic approach when dealing with the youths. Te Poutama Ārahi Rangatahi is the only facility of its kind in Aotearoa and Australasia.

He Puāwai Pounamu

Henare wears multiple hats at Barnardos, and one of them is being a part of He Pūawai Pounamu, Barnardos Māori Advisory Group. The roopu(committee) builds capability in kaimahi Māori to reach their full potential, as well as provides strategic advice to Barnardos Executive Leadership Team and support to the General Manager Māori Development. He Pūawai Pounamu, which was established in 2021, is an Advisory roopu of seven Senior Māori Advisors from across the motu. Among many things, the roopu reviews Māori policies and strategies and provides advisory advice from a te ao Māori lens.

“I have two passions in my life: one is education and the other is te ao Māori”